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Alderman Moore’s Decision on Proposal to Construct Apartment Building on Albion

March 7, 2012

Dear Neighbor,

I sponsored a community meeting in January on a proposed zoning change to allow Loyola University to construct a 29-unit residential apartment building development at 1217-39 W. Albion Avenue. The university currently operates a surface parking lot on the site.

The proposal also calls for the construction of a new surface parking lot, providing approximately 56 parking spaces, 29 of which would belong to the residential development. The remaining parking would be available for a fee to the community at large. Because the parking lot will be available for use by the public, it requires a special use permit from the Chicago Zoning Board of Appeals.

The proposal received overwhelming support at the January 25th community meeting, which approximately 30 community residents attended, and in e-mails sent to my office. My Zoning and Land Use Advisory Committee recommended I support the proposal, as well. Accordingly, I have decided to SUPPORT the zoning change and the special use permit.

The current zoning on the lots is a combination of C1-3 and RT4. In order to use the portion of the lot that is designated C1-3 for ground floor residential use, the zoning must be changed from a commercial to a residential designation.

The vast majority of those who either attended the meeting or sent me e-mails supported the proposal. Most stated the belief that the proposed development would be an improvement over the current underutilized parking lot. Some community residents expressed concern that the development would become a de factostudent dormitory, but Loyola assured the residents that it would own and manage the apartments and would limit the number of occupants in each rental unit.

If you have any questions or further comments, please feel free to reply to this e-mail.